A Birthday To Remember
by Harmne
Summary: It's Stephanie's birthday, and things are going unusually well...COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

_Set sometime after Hard Eight, during an off-again period…_

It was Saturday, and it was my birthday. I'd intended to sleep late but woke up at seven and couldn't go back to sleep, so I took my time getting up and dressed, and lingered over my makeup. I actually looked good – no bruises to try to cover anywhere. My bank balance was even looking decent. So as my gift to myself I decided to trade my less-than-reliable stun gun in on a better model, and headed off to Sunny's gun shop.

Sunny greeted me with a smile. Her shop was comfortably busy this morning. Anthony, the new twenty-something guy she'd hired, was cleaning in the gun range with the door between it and the shop propped open, and the faint smell of cordite lingered in the air. A large man with a crooked nose and tattooed forearms was pouring over the gun case further down.

"What's up, Stephanie?" she greeted as I came through the door. "How have you been? Hey, I've got a great buy on cuffs today - $20 a pair."

Actually, I could use them. I've gone through a lot of them, and one of these days I really should replace the ones I've borrowed… Well, maybe not all at once. I've borrowed from Joe, Lula, Vinnie, and Ranger… I couldn't afford that many pairs today. Maybe just a couple extra pairs for my own use. I asked Sunny about trading in my stun gun on a different model, pulling it out of my bag and laying it on the glass counter between us.

"Oh, yeah. I've had several of that model come back, some problem with the switch being hinky. The manufacturer is giving refunds on them, so I can give you what you paid for it off a different model." She pulled out several and laid them out for me to pick. I fiddled with each and found one that seemed to fit my hand just right.

"I'll take this one, and two pairs of cuffs," I told her. While she wrote up the ticket I took the batteries out of the oldstun gunand put them in the new one. She told me the total and I handed her cash.

Sunny moved to ring the sale on her old-fashioned cash register a few feet away, speaking to the tattooed man at the gun case. "Know what you want yet, Chester?"

"I want that damn .45," he growled.

Sunny handed me my change and the two pairs of cuffs. I dropped the change and one pair into my bag, switched on the stun gun, and stepped over to Chester. "Not today," I said, and pressed the gun to the blue parrot on his arm and hit the switch. He went down in a heap, and Sunny gaped at me. I shrugged.

"He missed his date for court."

Apprehensions _never _go this well for me – I'm probably the world's worst bounty hunter. This had just been one of those rare lucky things. Chester was actually one of Ranger's skips – a high bond -- he'd been arrested for trying to kill his ex-wife, bonded out, then didn't show for the hearing. And last I heard his ex was mysteriously missing. I'd looked at his file when Connie and Lula were talking about it in the office a few days ago, before Ranger picked up the paperwork.

I rolled the twitching guy over and cuffed his hands behind his back, then pulled out my cell. Ranger answered on the second ring, sounding busy.

"What?"

"I'm at Sunny's, and I have Chester McGinty for you."

"You need help?"

"No, he's cuffed on the floor." I heard him inhale, which for Ranger was the equivalent of a shocked gasp, and I ducked my head to hide my ear-to-ear grin. "He sort of ran into my new stun-gun. Want to come get him?"

Ranger laughed. "No. I'll meet you at the station. Thirty minutes."

Sunny was leaning on the counter, shaking her head. "Anthony can help you get him into the car."

Chester was beginning to come to when I pulled up to the back door of the station. Two cops whose names I didn't know were sneaking a smoke outside and helped me get the now-angry man out of my Jeep. Big Dog heard the noise and came to help, but ended up just holding the door open for the other two. He grinned when he took in my new vehicle.

The jeep was five years old. The paint was scratched up a little in a few places, and there was a small dent in the rear passenger side, but it ran great and drank a lot less gas than the Buick. And it had cost a heck of a lot less than the last car I'd destroyed. I sighed to myself, knowing there would be a new betting pool going the minute I left, but for once not really bothered by the thought.

A big black SUV turned into the lot and stopped. Ranger got out of the passenger door and the SUV moved off. Ranger walked toward us with an almost-grin on his face, dressed as usual in SWAT black, ready for action. When he reached us he held a file out to me. "All yours, Babe."

His dark eyes were almost dancing and I hesitated before I took the file, wondering what was going on in his head. Big Dog gave me a major hint when he choked in surprise.

"Stephanie brought in one of _your_ skips?" he asked Ranger.

"Yep." Ranger's lips curved into a full smile and I realized he was _proud_ of me.

"It was just luck," I said. They both just stood there, smiling, and I retreated into the station to get my body receipt.

Eddie Gazarra was on desk duty, and his eyebrows went up when he looked at the paperwork before filling out the receipt. He was grinning when he handed it to me. "Way to go. You even stayed clean."

Ranger was leaning against the Jeep when I went outside, but the others were gone. "Heading to Vinnie's? I could use a ride. My car's there."

This was a switch. Usually I was the one needing a ride. "Sure, no problem." Driving with Ranger in the passenger seat was odd and made me a touch nervous. I concentrated on not grinding gears and soon we were turning onto Hamilton. Ranger's Porsche 911 was in front of the office, and the SUV with Tank in it was behind it. I parked close behind Tank and got out, going around behind the Jeep to make sure I wasn't in front of the fire hydrant. The day was going good and I didn't want to ruin it with a ticket.

Ranger was waiting on the sidewalk, still smiling at me. It was getting weird.

"Would you stop? I told you, it was just luck…"

Ranger laughed, catching my wrist and pulling me closer to his body. "I'm still proud of you," he said, and kissed me. When he stepped back his eyes were dark and the smile had turned slightly predatory. "Happy birthday, Babe."

I stood frozen with surprise, unable to move as I watched him turn and walk to the Porsche. Not an unusual reaction to being kissed by Ranger, but today there was the added shock of him remembering it was my birthday. The Porsche and the SUV pulled away from the curb and turned at the corner. It wasn't until I finally moved to touch my fingers to my lips that I felt something on my arm.

There was a silver charm bracelet on my wrist. I blinked, raising my arm for a better look. Suspended from the double-link bracelet were nearly a dozen charms -- a tiny .38, a mini .45, several pairs of little handcuffs, a miniature stun-gun, two small hearts of different designs, and several small keys. There was a skeleton key, one that looked like a miniature of my apartment key, and - wait, was that really…? I looked again and sure enough, the third key was a handcuff key. I felt my face warm even as I bit my lip to hide my own grin. Ranger never mentioned the shower fiasco, but occasionally the memory would blindside me. Come to think of it, the bracelet might come in handy. Hidden among the other charms the key would be easily overlooked… I could think of a few times a key would have been nice.

I was surprised Lulu and Connie weren't glued to the window watching Ranger leave, but evidently they'd somehow missed him. I was relieved they hadn't seen that kiss. It would have meant too many questions. Lula was filing her nails and Connie was eyeing the clock when I stepped into the office. Saturday was a part-day, and Connie usually closed up about noon. It was nearing eleven-thirty now.

"Hey, white girl. What're you doing here today?" Lula asked.

"I don't have any new skips," Connie added. "Everyone showed up for court on Friday."

"That's okay. I got lucky this morning." I moved to hand her the body receipt, and the movement of the charm bracelet immediately caught both their eyes.

"Would you look at that!" exclaimed Lula, grabbing my arm to give the bracelet a closer look. "This is so damned cute! Look at them itty-bitty handcuffs!"

"Perfect jewelry for a bounty hunter," Connie added with a grin as she took her turn looking.

"Thanks," I said. "I just got it." At the last minute I decided not to mention where – or from whom.

Connie turned her attention to the desk as she pulled out the checkbook and started writing my name on the check. She took a better look at the name on the receipt, and her eyebrows shot skyward. "Chester McGinty? Wasn't he Ranger's skip?"

"Yeah." I had to grin. "Remember we were looking at the file Tuesday when you were waiting for Ranger to pick it up? I was at Sunny's this morning, trading my old stun gun for a new one, and Chester was looking at guns. I recognized his tattoos from the picture. He wasn't paying any attention to me, so I tried the new stun gun out on him. Then I called Ranger to come get him. He brought me the papers, instead."

"Pretty damn slick," Lula said.

"We should take her to lunch to celebrate," Connie said to Lula.

"I can't do lunch today. It's my birthday, and Mom made me promise to come for lunch and cake."

"Birthday!" they both yelled. Connie continued with a grin. "Well, then meet us at six and we'll buy you a birthday margarita!"

We decided where to meet and I took off, depositing my check at the bank before the ink was even dry and still made it to my parents' house by noon.

I staggered back out to my Jeep about one-thirty, stuffed full of lasagna, chocolate cake and ice cream. Grandma had loved my new bracelet, and even Mom had said it was cute. I neglected to mention it was a gift, or that the key was a real cuff key. I would have had to explain, and no one knew that story but me and Ranger. Even Joe didn't know how I'd gotten loose.

I was afraid the overdose of cake was going to go straight to my butt so I decided to go to the mall and walk some of it off. I checked in with Mr. Alexander and got lucky. He could get me in for a trim in just an hour, so I walked the mall to kill some time. A really cute outfit on the mannequin in Dress Barn caught my eye, but I kept walking. On my second trip around I stopped dead – the manager was taking it down. So I went in to check it out.

"This? We were supposed to get a whole shipment of these but they didn't come in. So I'm going to put this one on the clearance rack."

The outfit was black, like a growing percentage of my wardrobe. The pants were slim-fitting and flared at the bottom. The matching top was like the peasant tops from when I was a kid, only sexier. The neck was gathered with elastic, showed a lot of shoulder but just a touch of cleavage. Another band of elastic snugged just under the bust. From there down to almost hip length the top was full and fluttery and semi-sheer, as were the sleeves. The front was split down the middle from elastic to hem. The fullness hid the split, but any movement would let my belly-button peek.

I wanted it bad. It was even my size. "How much?"

The manager checked the tag - $110. She closed one eye and rocked her head back and forth, I suppose to do arithmetic in her head, and finally said "Thirty dollars."

I had the perfect shoes at home.

Mr. Alexander gave me a quick trim then talked me into buying a bottle of some wonder-conditioner he'd just got in that was supposed to tame frizzy curls like mine. Right. Oh well, I'd give it a shot. On the way out I stopped at Icings and got one of those silly little stick-on rhinestone 'tattoos' to go around my belly button. Hey, it was my birthday!

Back at my apartment I dropped the chunk of cake I'd saved for Rex into his cage then went to take a shower to get rid of the itch from my trim. Just for the hell of it I worked some of Mr. Alexander's conditioner through my hair before blow-drying it, and wonder of wonders, no frizz. It was a miracle. I left it in loose curls and did my makeup quickly, smudging smoky liner around my eyes to make them look huge and maybe mysterious. It was harder than I thought to get the rhinestone tattoo on, but I liked the way it looked. Kind of cute and silly and sexy. I sprayed myself with Dolce Vida, slipped into my new outfit, buckled on black three inch heels that I could walk in even half-snockered, and I was off.

My earrings were clusters of silver chains with coins on the ends, and they brushed my neck with each movement of my head. The charm bracelet on my wrist sparkled in the lights. When I stepped into the bar to meet the girls I felt wonderful – sexy and cool and ready for some fun.

Lula and Connie had already arrived, and squealed "Happy Birthday!" the second I got close. They'd already ordered, and a few minutes later the first round arrived.

Near seven, on my second frozen margarita, Eddie and Big Dog came in with several other guys I recognized as Trenton PD. They came over and joined our table, teasing me about stealing Ranger's skip, telling me happy birthday, and cheerfully complaining at the lack of cake. By nine the party had grown and moved to the back room, where there was a jukebox and little dance floor. Someone had brought in a cake, and there was pizza and various other finger-foods appearing. I was dancing with pretty much everyone who asked – several times with guys I didn't know, but currently with Big Dog – and someone was keeping my drink filled and finger-foods on the table. When I came back for a sip and a mini-taco Morelli was sitting in my chair, so I sat on his lap.

He pretended to grunt, then grinned. "Hey, Cupcake. Happy birthday. I hear you took down a big skip this morning by yourself."

I laughed, and told him about the stun-gun incident. Then we danced a few times and he kissed me in the shadowy corner beside the jukebox. He only shook his head when he saw my bracelet, but he didn't look very close – I think he only noticed the cuffs. I didn't think it prudent to point out anything else.

I was feeling no pain and getting passed from one dance partner to the next at midnight when I suddenly found myself in Ranger's arms, swaying to a slow, sexy beat. He grinned down at me and I stumbled. He was freshly showered – I could smell Bulgari – and his hair was pulled back into its customary ponytail, but there the familiar stopped. He was wearing a silver-gray silk polo shirt that clung lovingly to his shoulders, tucked into black jeans, with the diamond studs I'd only seen him wear once before in his ears. There was no gun at his waist, but I knew him - there was one on him somewhere.

"Are you incognito?" I asked, and his grin got bigger.

"I dressed up for your party."

I looked around at the crowded room, seeking Connie and Lula among those on the dance floor. I spotted Mary Lou…and Joe was frowning, watching us. "It started out as just me, Connie and Lula. I'm not sure when it turned into a party."

I could feel him laughing. "Babe, word is all over town. We heard about it from a skip."

Tank cut in before I could think of anything to say, then when the music changed I headed for the table and my drink. On the way across the floor I heard several cell phones ring and pagers go off. Joe swore under his breath as I sat down beside him.

"Perfect time for crime – half the cops in Trenton are here," he muttered to himself as he read his page. "I've got to go, cupcake. See you later."

Joe left, followed by several more of Trenton's finest. It thinned the crowd only slightly. I looked around, curious, and couldn't spot Ranger or Tank. Lester and Hal were still here. I wondered if Ranger had left when the others did, or if he was just hidden by the crowd. I shrugged it off. At least I'd gotten a dance.

Ranger stole me from Lester a while later. He was back in his usual black t-shirt and cargo pants, so he must have left and come back. The fact that he'd come back made it difficult for me to stop smiling. I'd long since lost track of what I'd had to drink but I was starting to feel a little dizzy, so when Ranger swung me through a fancy turn the room blurred, and I clung to him for support.

"Dizzy?"

"A little," I answered.

"Want to sit down?"

"No. I'd rather dance with you."

His reply was to tighten his arms around me, pulling me snug against his body. I could feel his muscles shift and bunch as he moved, and it made me think of sex. The rush I got at the thought of sex and Ranger made me stumble, and Ranger caught me closer. Okay, no more booze for me tonight.

I didn't realize I'd said it out loud until Ranger chuckled. "Might be wise."

If I'd been sober I'd have been mortified. Instead I took advantage of my inebriation and snuggled closer into his arms. "Don't let me do anything really stupid, okay?"

"I'll do my best."

Maybe I should have defined "stupid".


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I love Janet's books but sadly don't own any of the characters. I just like to play with them..._

I surfaced slowly, fighting to ignore the pounding in my head. After a few minutes the fog in my brain started to clear and I realized that some of the pounding was not in my head - someone was pounding on my door. I groaned, trying to bury my head into the pillow but it was too hard. I had to make the pounding stop. With effort I lifted my head up slightly, only to find the hard pillow…was an arm. A bare, male, well-muscled arm the color of mocha latte. Oh my god! I didn't…!

Turning my head slowly to minimize the pain, I forced myself to follow the arm to the shoulder and beyond, and found myself looking at Ranger. His face was relaxed and his eyes were closed, and he was bare at least to his waist where the sheets lay tangled. His hair was loose around his face. I'd never seen him with his hair long and loose before, and it momentarily fascinated me. It was just slightly wavy – and it made him look younger.

The pounding increased in volume, and I heard Morelli calling my name from the hallway. He still has my key. If I don't answer the door he might decide to use it, and I have no idea if the chain is on or not. Not that a chain would slow Morelli down long. I don't think I can cope with the scene that could likely erupt if Joe found Ranger in my bed. Not with the way my head felt right now.

As I lay frozen, weighing my options, Ranger opened his eyes. He was completely awake, of course. If I'd been able to think I'd have known there was no way he'd sleep through that much noise. He tilted his head toward the front door and gave me a slow, sexy smile.

"If you don't get the door he's going to break it down, babe."

His hand smoothed up my back and I got a one-two punch. One, a flash of heat at the familiarity of the caress; and two, relief that I wasn't naked. I had on a T-shirt. The relief was short-lived, though, when I realized it was one of Ranger's black T-shirts. I had black T-shirts, too, but they didn't feel like this.

I untangled my legs from the sheet and got up, swaying. I was wearing panties but I had no idea if they were the same ones I'd had on the night before. In fact, I couldn't remember much past Morelli leaving around midnight and dancing with Ranger.

Ranger was watching me from the bed, silent, his face giving nothing away. Head pounding, I steeled myself to ask. "Did we…?" Predictably, Ranger just grinned. Morelli pounded again, and I jumped, one hand going up to hold my head on. Ranger's smile faded and he sat up.

"Are you okay?"

"Just…stay in here and be quiet, okay? I don't want him to see you."

Ranger gave a faint nod, his okay. I left the bedroom door ajar because closed would have looked suspicious, and staggered to the door on legs that felt like rubber. I unlocked the bolt but left the chain on, opening the door only a crack.

"Jesus, Morelli, are you trying to wake the dead?" I complained before he could speak. He lowered his fist from its pounding position and frowned at me and the chain barring the door.

"Aren't you going to let me in?" he asked. "What's wrong with you?"

"I have a hangover, and some idiot is pounding on my door. No, I'm not letting you in. I'm going back to sleep."

Morelli wasn't listening; he was squinting at me through the crack. "Is that Ranger's shirt?"

I looked down before I could catch myself, then scowled at Morelli. "It's just a black T-shirt, Joe."

"He's in there, isn't he," he growled. Before I could do anything he thrust his hand into the opening and shoved the door, pulling the screws holding the chain out of the door facing. He pushed his way in, brushing me to one side, turning to sweep the living room with his cop's eyes, looking for signs of Ranger.

Oh hell no.

"What do you think you're doing?" I stepped in front of him to head him off and get him out. Joe just picked me up and moved me out of his way, heading for the bedroom. I was hot on his heels, cursing.

The bed was empty.

The sheets were more than a little mussed, and the pillows were both crumpled, but there was nothing to indicate Ranger had been there only moments before. For a second I stopped and gaped, wondering if I'd imagined waking up with him in my bed, but I snapped my mouth shut and slapped my scowl back in place as Joe turned back toward me. "Happy now?"

Evidently not. He passed me to check the bathroom, then came back and went to the window that led onto the fire escape. I held my breath as he swept the curtain back, but the window was locked. Even that didn't satisfy Joe. He unlocked it, opened the window and stuck his head out, looking up, down, and craning his neck from side to side, looking for any sign of Ranger or one of his vehicles. Giving up, he shut the window and relocked it.

I was so mad I was seeing red spots. "What the hell is your problem?" I shouted as soon as he turned back around.

"I thought Ranger was here," Joe yelled back.

"Why would you think that?" I didn't yell this time because my head felt like it was exploding. I really wanted Joe to leave now so I _could_ go back to bed.

"Because he was being overly familiar with you last night before I left the bar, that's why. What happened after I left?"

I screwed up my face and my courage and gave Joe what I hoped was a killing look. "I got drunk, obviously. Past that I don't remember."

"Jesus, Steph—" Joe began, stepping toward me, but I backed away, still mad.

"Don't touch me. Just go home, Joe. I'll talk to you later." I all but shoved him out the door and relocked it, contemplating the now-useless chain for several minutes. Then I turned and let out a small squeak when I found Ranger directly behind me.

"Where did you come from? Never mind," I waved the stupid question away. Ranger was made of smoke and magic. He was mostly dressed, I noticed ruefully. He was unshaven, his hair was loose, and he was bare-chested still, but the rest of his vaguely military 'uniform' was in place. Of course, his lack of shirt was probably because I was still wearing it.

"Are you okay?" Ranger asked softly, gently stroking my face with the back of his fingers.

"I need some aspirin, but I'll live," I said, fighting the urge to lean into him. "I suppose you need your shirt back…"

Ranger gave me a faint grin. "Not right now."

"You can't walk around in this building without a shirt," I snorted. "If one of the old ladies gets a look at this body they'll have a coronary…" Then, because I was still too impaired to heed caution, I let myself slide my hands up Ranger's chest and laid my aching head over his heart.

His arms came up to cradle me, one around my back and the other at the nape of my neck. "Cheap talk. Come on, babe, I'll get you back into bed. We can continue this when you're back to normal."

I snorted even as Ranger lifted me into his arms. "Define normal." I felt his chuckle as he carried me back into the bedroom and slid me back into the bed. He disappeared into the kitchen and brought back a glass of orange juice and a bottle of extra-strength Excedrin. I was pretty sure neither one had been in my kitchen yesterday and it wasn't The Cure, but I didn't argue, just took the dose he gave me. I don't think my stomach could have handled French fries the way it felt right now, anyway.

"Where did you leave your car? Joe didn't see it."

"I drove your Jeep here. I'll call Cal for a ride."

"Not Tank?"

Ranger grinned. "I'm not entirely sure Tank will be up to driving this morning. He took Lula home."

It took me a minute to digest this, then I began to giggle. It hurt my head but I couldn't stop. "Oh, jeez, she's been dying to get her hands on him! Poor Tank!"

"He wasn't complaining when he left," he said, shaking his head. "I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens."

Ranger tucked me in then bent to kiss me, a nuzzling kiss between my temple and ear. It gave me the shivers and a vague deja-vu feeling, but before I could ask him anything else he was gone and I slipped back into sleep.

_finis_


End file.
